Toy-balloon inflator



(No Model.)

I J. s. MOORE. TOY BALLOON INFLATOR.

No; 529,337. Patented Nov. 13, 1894.

mz zzwsea 4;, i6. a wms UNrrao STATES ATENT JAMES S. MOORE, OF PORT RICHMOND, NEW YORK.

TOY-BALLOON lN FLATO R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 529,337, dated November 13, 1894.

Application fil d April 18, 1894:. Serial No. 508,034:- (No model.)

To all whom it may conceive:

Be it known that 1, JAMES S. MOORE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Port Richmond, in the county of Richmond, State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Toy-Balloon Inflators; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the in vention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an inflator for toy and hot air balloons in which theascensional power is derived from heated air with which the balloon is inflated.

Heretofore it has been customary to saturate asponge or other porous body with alcohol, paraffine or other volatile combustible substance which when suspended beneath the open mouth of the balloon and ignited would cause said balloon to inflate and rise. It is also customary to surround or inclose the said saturated sponge by a chimney made of asbestos paper in order to prevent the flames from setting fire to the balloon itself. In my invention the necessity for this chimney is done away with and the combustible is reduced to a convenient form for shipping and easy handling.

Figure 1 shows the balloon with cartridge attached. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the cartridge itself. Fig. 3 is a modification.

Similar letters refer to similar parts in all the views.

Ais the balloon; B, theinflatoror cartridge; O, the ring forming the base of the balloon and D, the cross wires to which the cartridge B is attached.

The essential feature of my invention is the cartridge B so secured to the cross wires D that the hole or holes E will stand vertical, the whole acting as a central draft wick and causing a single straight flame F to ascend directly into the balloon A with no tendency to diverge and so setting the body of the balloon on fire.

The cartridge itself is made by taking a strip of cloth G or other fibrous material, saturating the same in liquid paraffine, frankincense or other inflammable substance, and wrapping the then saturated strip around a tube or pasteboard or other similar substance.

"The burning of this cartridge will however result in the melting and dripping of more or less of the inflammable substance with which it is saturated. To avoid this I prefer to take a strip of soft cardboard H, cloth or other absorbent material, lay it together with the before mentioned saturated strip G, and roll the two together into a thick tube as shown in Fig. 3, so that the tube will consist of alternate layers of highly inflammable and of absorbent material; and when the cartridge is ignited, the strip H, will take up that portion of the melted inflammable substance which would otherwise drip and go to waste, thus insuring the complete combustion of the cartridge.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of a balloon having an open month; an open-ended tube of non-inflammable material, centrally located in said mouth; a wick saturated with inflammable material surrounding said tube, with a covering of slowly combustible absorbent material wrapped about said wick, substantially as described.

2. An inflator for balloons consisting of an open-ended tube of suitable cross section; in combination with a wick surrounding said tube, said wick being composed of a strip of combustible fabric saturated with an inflammable substance and a strip of slowly combustible absorbent material wrapped together so as to form alternate layers,substantially as described.

3. The combination of a balloon having an open mouth; a frame for distending said mouth; cross bars in said frame, with an inflating cartridge centrally supported on said bars in said month; said cartridge consisting of an open-ended tube of paste-board or like material, wrapped with alternate layers of a combustible fabric, as cloth, saturated with inflammable material, as paraffine; and layers of a slowly combustible absorbent material, as soft card board, substantially as described.

JAMES S. MOORE.

Witnesses:

THOMAS F. LIVINGSTON, HENRY KAHLERT. 

